Category: Shotguns

Coyotes are fair game. People who terminate coyotes (with extreme, if stealthy prejudice) in open terrain tend to use rifles in the ever-popular .223 caliber. That said, a deer rifle will also git ‘er done. But when you’re hunting in thick timber or in the dead of night, a shotgun is your ballistic BFF. Trulock’s presser [after the jump] warns aspiring “song dog” hunters that taking aim at 40 yards or more that 00 buck ain’t it. “Depending on the shotgun make, No. 4 buck, No. 2 buck or T shot paired with the new Predator Choke will put the largest number of pellets at higher energy into that same animal at that same distance.” Their new made-in-the-USA performance-guaranteed Coyote Choke is one of 2k shotgun chokes they offer to the general public. We’ll secure a sample for our Jon Wayne Taylor and see what he makes of it. Watch this space . . .

A Washington man who invoked the “Joe Biden” defense — i.e., that when faced with a threat that may or may not be life-threatening, just shoot wildly into their air — learned on Friday to his astonishment that the the Vice President’s tactical advice doesn’t carry much weight in a court of law . . .

The winter has been long and frigid. These folks in Canada have made it an opportunity to get creative. Watch these folks shoot some clay pigeons with a hockey stick, then a shotgun, and have some major fun. They did a really good job of putting this film together. The drone truly gives it another cinematic level of coolness. This a creative and smart idea to pass away the winter blues and stride into spring. If you’re in an area that still has snow, give it a try. Practice makes perfect!

Although the Chiappa X-Caliber was actually first shown at SHOT Show 2014, it only started shipping a few months ago. It’s a lightweight survival gun configured as a break-open over/under with a 12 gauge shotgun barrel on top and a .22 LR barrel on bottom and a dual extractor in between. What truly makes it a survival gun is that it can shoot at total of 10 different calibers, including. . .

In my post Three Stupid Things Westerns Taught Me About Gunfighting I recommended carrying a trunk gun. There ain’t no junk in my trunk; I port a Benelli SuperNova ever-so-tactical pump-action 12-gauge shotgun. I chose Big Ben because scatterguns are the ultimate conversation stopper. In terms of reaching out and touching someone out there, somewhere, a scoped rifle would be a better choice. But those slugs sitting on the shotgun’s sleeve aren’t exactly chopped liver. Before posting your choice below, check out the TTAG editorial team’s pick for best trunk gun . . .

Dictionary.com defines “expense” as “The cost or the charge of something.” We all understand what expenses are and how we incur them, especially when we’re procuring our hunting gear for each season. “Investment” is defined as: “the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.” In other words, spending money because the value of a particular item will be worth more in the future. How often do we justify the purchasing of hunting gear as an investment? I do, all the time and I am sure you do it too . . .

Enter stage left, the Benelli Vinci, a gun hyped to revolutionize the shotgun world with its state of the art technology. For months prior to its release, it was shrouded in secrecy and teased to the masses by Benelli’s PR team. All we knew was that it had a fancy case and was a pretty big deal. I certainly fell for their smooth talking, and I jumped at the chance to own this shotgun when my previous gun broke. After four years of chasing ducks, geese, and pheasants through muck, snow, and briar patches, I know this gun like the back of my hand. Was this gun worth the $1400 I paid for it? . . .

Weatherby’s really upping their game with the new Element semi-auto. This is a very nicely finished gun that features an inertia-operated action, a first for Weatherby. And that action is perhaps the most impressive aspect of an already very nice shotgun. The chrome plated bolt carrier moves with a smoothness you typically have to pay twice as much for. Other features include . . .

SHOT week is our biggest traffic week of the year. Everyone wants to see what’s new and cool. Who wouldn’t? But a frequent bitch complaint we get crops up when we post news of a new high end gun. “Oh great…another gun I can’t afford,” is an oft-heard refrain. Well here’s a new O/U that will take you a lot less time to save your pennies for. Weatherby’s Orion I . . .

It’s too bad I have to spend money on a house payment, taxes, and utilities, because it would be so much more fun to blow a huge wad of cash on a matched set of Perazzi field shotguns chambered in 12, 20, 28 and .410 gauge. Sigh . . .

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies have lost a beanbag shotgun that went missing from the trunk of a Sheriff’s Department vehicle after a 33-mile, hour-long drive from Agoura Hills to Hollywood on Saturday. “The shotgun is loaded with four bean bag shells but can operate as a regular gun if loaded with live shotgun shells,” according to the press release. After the experience in Portland, you’d think departments would avoid issuing officers shotguns that can fire both live and “less lethal” rounds. Anyway, the (unidentified) deputies were reportedly flagged down by a passerby near the Sunset Boulevard off-ramp who informed them that their trunk was open two or three inches . . .